ChessInstruction Takes On A New Dimension (NAPSA)—Increasingly, school districts and individual educators are making the moveto chess. According to America’s Foundation for Chess, chess is seen as a way to help students enhanceselfdiscipline, patience and analytical skills, as well as visual memory, spatial reasoning skills and capacity to evaluate alternatives and anticipate consequences. Now there’s good news for educators and parents who are looking for a way to help their child master a game that’s growing in popularity. Experts say about three million chess sets are sold every year in the United States. For a video gamealternative to the traditional board game, parents can turn to the “Academy” feature of ChessMaster 10th Edition on either the Xbox or their home PC. The gamefeatures a 3D look and personal instruction from players such as International Master Josh Waitzkin and Grandmaster Larry Christiansen. The instruction is geared to meet the needs of students, whether they are new to chess or are already a tournament-level player. Instructors walk players through the basics of chess, such as how the pieces move and progress toward a variety of simple strategies for dominating an opponent. Other features of this chess program include: * An interface that’s said to be easy to navigate, with drop-down menus that are loaded with coaching options * Personalized instruction on everything from opening moves to advanced strategy as taught by some of the world’s most famous Pe Parents and teachers are finding that chess can contribute to a child’s academic and emotional development. players * Whimsical animations that are described as bringing the moving chess pieces to life, complete with the 3-D viewing glasses that are enclosed in the PC version * Ranked and advanced styles of play, where players can even create their own tournament. As players improve, they can choose to face more challenging, computer-controlled opponents. After learning to play at the Academyand testing their skills against the computer, players may choose to take their playing skills online to challenge otherlive players. Players of the previous “ChessMaster” versions may appreciate a $10 mail-in rebate offer that can be redeemed via the on-box coupon. For more information on how to bring a chess program toa school, contact America’s Foundation for Chess at info@af4c.org or call 206-675-0490. For more information about “ChessMaster 10th Edition,” or to download a playable demo, visit the official Web site at www.chess master.com.
